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Episode 26 (13th March 1961)
Plot The back room of the Rovers is piled high with presents as Jack, on Annie's orders, learns his speech by heart. Billy resents having to wear a suit and buttonhole. Annie fusses and panics. Joan comes downstairs in her wedding dress to receive her family's approval. David gets ready to go off to play a football match, with Frank coming along to watch. Ida watches from the doorway of No.3 to see the cars depart. Billy ushers the guests to the waiting vehicles. After they have gone, Jack has a final quiet moment alone with his daughter. They agree that they'll miss each other when she moves to Derby. The womenfolk of the street watch as the cars leave for St. Thomas's Church. Ena and Elsie snipe at each other as they look on. Joan's dress gets popular acclaim as she and Jack leave the pub but they are slightly delayed when their car won't start. Harry is pleased to help Concepta out behind the bar while the Walkers are out. After the wedding and the reception at The Ridgeway, and after Joan and Gordon have been seen off on their honeymoon at the station, the guests are invited back to the Rovers, although the majority of the Davies family have not come back, being teetotallers. Annie and Jack have a quiet moment together where she can kick off her shoes. They bemoan Gordon's boring Uncle Fred and his endless jokes. Jack can't get away from the man and his dull stories and boasting until Concepta asks him to change a barrel. Even then Tom claims he's an expert on such things and insists on helping. Ena, Minnie and Martha are pleased to be offered free sandwiches and a drink on the house. The Barlows receive a visit from a Mr Lawther from Weatherfield County FC who want to sign David to play for them. Ida puts him in the front room to wait for David coming home. The Walkers think they've seen all the guests off from the pub but Uncle Fred is still with them. He surprises them when he tells them that he's not actually related to Gordon, just a family friend. Cast Regular cast *Florrie Lindley - Betty Alberge *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Harry Hewitt - Ivan Beavis *Ida Barlow - Noel Dyson *Frank Barlow - Frank Pemberton *David Barlow - Alan Rothwell *Annie Walker - Doris Speed *Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie *Billy Walker - Kenneth Farrington *Concepta Riley - Doreen Keogh *Ena Sharples - Violet Carson *Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant *Martha Longhurst - Lynne Carol Guest cast *Joan Walker - June Barry *Uncle Fred - Edward Palmer *Tom - Tom Gowling *Mavis - Veronica Howard Places *Coronation Street *Rovers Return Inn - Public/Snug, hallway and back room *3 Coronation Street - Back room and hallway *Rosamund Street Notes *This episode features the first wedding in the programme, although the service itself is not seen. *Jack Walker states that he and Annie have been married for twenty-six years. In October the following year, the Walkers celebrate their Silver anniversary, and all references thereafter date their marriage to 1937. *Weatherfield County FC are referred to as just "County" in dialogue, the name of Weatherfield for the setting of the programme not yet having been established within the programme's narrative. *No episode was shown on Wednesday 8th March, 1961 due to a lightning strike by thirty-two electricians at Granada Television belonging to the Electrical Trades Union in support of a pay claim. The strike began at 4.00pm on the 8th and lasted just five hours, during which time viewers in the North of England received programmes from Associated Rediffusion in London and Granada programmes such as Coronation Street were postponed. This was the episode which had originally been due to be shown on the 8th and reference books such as Daran Little's 40 Years of Coronation Street still state that Joan Walker was married on 8th March, 1961. As a result of the episode being shown on a Monday instead of the scheduled Wednesday, the end credits were remade (with a rather obvious jump in the videotape) to show a caption reading "Next Episode: Wednesday 7.30pm". *''TV Times: Every front door hides a story. Behind the front doors in Coronation Street are stories of excitement and joy, pathos and humour ''(This generic synopsis did not appear in all regional editions) *Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 5,787,000 homes (chart placing unknown). *This episode was included in the Network DVD collection Coronation Street: The Best of 1960-1969, released on 31st July 2006. Episode 026 Episode 0026